1. Prehistoric Art in Europe
Stone Age
Prehistoric Art in Europe

2. Paleolithic Art: Neolithic Art: TIME PERIODS
30,000 BCE to 8,000 BCE in the Near East
8000 BCE to 3000 BCE in the Near East
30,000 BCE to 4,000 BCE in Europe
4000 BCE to 2000 BCE in Europe

3. KEY IDEAS
Earliest surviving works of art are cave paintings and portable sculptures of humans and animals.
Little is known about the original intention or meaning of prehistoric works.
Buildings such as Stonehenge show the ability of prehistoric people to build elaborate religious structures using the post-and-lintel system of construction.
Much of what we know about prehistoric people is based on the art

4. PREHISTORIC BACKGROUND
Paleolithic
people were hunter-gatherers
people used caves and other natural shelters as homes
people were unsettled (moved frequently)

5. PREHISTORIC BACKGROUND
Neolithic
people cultivated the earth and raised livestock
people lived in organized settlements
people divided labor into occupations
people constructed the first homes

6. PREHISTORY FACTS
Prehistory = Prehistoric = all human existence before writing
Even before writing, people were: -carving objects -painting images -creating structures/shelter
Homo sapiens sapiens (our subspecies) evolved about 120,000 to 100,000 years ago. (wow!)

7. PREHISTORY FACTS We can only make hypotheses about prehistoric art
The paintings, sculptures, and structures that have survived are only a fraction of what must have been created over a very long period of time.
Prehistoric art is one of the most speculative areas of art history.

8. SIDE NOTE Accepted Terminology Previously Accepted
BCE = Before Common Era
BC = Before Christ
CE = Common Era
AD = Anno Domini = In the year of our lord

9. THE END. BYE.
Hand Stencils from Argentina, c.11,000 – 7,500 BCE